Shelf management device

ABSTRACT

A shelf management device including a guide member having a front end and a rear end, and a pusher device guided for movement by the guide member. Wherein the pusher device includes a rotatable spool upon which is wound a flexible drive member, an end part of the drive member being secured to the guide member at or adjacent the front end thereof. A spring is provided to urge the spool for rotation to take up the drive member and thereby apply a load to the pusher device urging the pusher device towards the front end of the guide member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application No.PCT/GB2016/050168 filed on Jan. 27, 2016, which claims priority to CNPatent Application No. 201520059373.6 filed on Jan. 28, 2015, and CNPatent Application No. 201520059328.0 filed on Jan. 28, 2015, and GBPatent Application No. 1504218.7 filed on Mar. 12, 2015, the disclosuresof which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.

This invention relates to a shelf management device, for examplesuitable for use on a shelf of a supermarket or the like to ensure thatproducts are located at the front of the shelf in a neat and tidyfashion.

Supermarkets and other retail establishments prefer for products locatedupon the shelves thereof to be positioned towards the front of theshelves. This has several benefits. Firstly, the products are clearlyvisible to and readily accessible by customers. As a result, productsales may be enhanced. Secondly, the appearance of the products upon theshelves is enhanced. These benefits are particularly advantageous wherethe shelves used in the supermarket or the like are relatively deep.Market research has shown that sales are enhanced where products arelocated at the front of the shelves.

A number of devices are available to assist in achieving this effect bymoving products upon the shelves towards the front of the shelves eachtime a product is removed therefrom. Typically, such devices take theform of a spring biased pusher operable to push products towards thefront of the shelf, and a stop arrangement operable to prevent productsfrom being pushed over the front of the shelf, stopping and supportingthe products at or adjacent the front of the shelf. In one knownarrangement, a coiled spring is used to drive the pusher for movement,an end of the spring being secured to a guide adjacent the front of theshelf, the other end of the spring being attached to the pusher. Whilstsuch an arrangement operates satisfactorily, the exposed part of thespring is thought to look unsightly. It may also have sharp edges and sopresent an injury risk to individuals removing products from the shelfor restocking the shelf. The stop arrangements used are typically rigid,making restocking of the shelf relatively difficult as products must belifted over the stop arrangement. As the shelves are often verticallyspaced from one another by a relatively small distance, leaving minimalclearance above the products on display, such lifting usually alsorequires the products to be tilted in order to be lifted over the stoparrangement. This is inconvenient, and limits the number of stock itemsthat can be added to the shelf at the same time. As a result, therestocking operation is impeded.

Additionally, the devices are typically secured to a mounting raillocated to the front edge of the shelf, and to a mounting rail locatedto the rear of the shelf. As a result, installation and adjustment ofthe positions of the devices is difficult and timely to accomplish.Where such devices are provided on only some of the shelves, thepresence of the devices may detract from the uniformity of the look ofthe shelves, making the shelf display less appealing and potentiallyresulting in reduced sales. Also, the devices tend to form a dust trapand their presence on the shelves results in cleaning of the shelvesbeing hampered.

It is an object of the invention to provide a shelf management device inwhich at least some of the disadvantages associated with known shelfmanagement devices are overcome or are of reduced effect.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a shelfmanagement device comprising a guide member having a front end and arear end, attachment formations provided at or adjacent the rear end forattachment to a mounting rail, and magnetic securing means provided ator adjacent the front end.

The mounting rail is conveniently provided with a series of teethcooperable with corresponding formations provided on the attachmentformations to resist movement of the guide member along the length ofthe mounting rail.

Preferably, at or adjacent the front end, the guide member is furtherprovided with friction pads, for example of a suitable gel material.

In such an arrangement, once secured to the mounting rail, and held tothe shelf by the magnetic securing means, movement of the rear end ofthe guide member is resisted. Lifting of the front end of the mountingrail is resisted by magnetic attraction between the magnetic securingmeans and the material of the shelf upon which the device is mounted,and the friction pads resist lateral movement of the device.Accordingly, once fitted to a shelf, movement of the guide member isresisted. The guide member is attached to the mounting rail to the rearof the shelf, and so the visible impact of the presence of the device isreduced. When it is desired to move the guide member, lifting of thefront end thereof results in sufficient disengagement of the rear endfrom the rail that lateral movement of the guide member lengthwise ofthe rail is permitted.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a shelfmanagement device comprising a guide member having a front end and arear end, stop means being located at or adjacent the front end, whereinthe stop means comprises a stop member pivotally mounted to the guidemember about a pivot axis and moveable between a retaining position inwhich it extends substantially perpendicularly to the guide member and astocking position in which it extends substantially parallel to theguide member, lying alongside the guide member, and bias means urgingthe stop member towards the retaining position.

In such an arrangement, in use, products located upon the shelf uponwhich the device is installed can be urged into engagement with the stopmeans, the stop member serving to restrict movement of the products andso retain the products upon the shelf. If additional products are to beadded to the shelf, this can be achieved by engaging the products withthe outer surface of the stop member and applying a force to cause thestop member to pivot towards its stocking position whereon the productscan be pushed past the stop member. After the products have beenintroduced in this manner, the biasing of the stop member results in itreturning to the retaining position, thereby retaining the products inposition upon the shelf. Lifting of the products over the stop member,or tilting of the products, is unnecessary. As a result, restocking ofthe shelf is simplified and may be accomplished more rapidly.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a shelfmanagement device comprising a guide member having a front end and arear end, and a pusher device guided for movement by the guide member,wherein the pusher device comprises a rotatable spool upon which iswound a flexible drive member, an end part of the drive member beingsecured to the guide member at or adjacent the front end thereof, springmeans being provided to urge the spool for rotation to take up the drivemember and thereby apply a load to the pusher device urging the pusherdevice towards the front end of the guide member.

The drive member conveniently takes the form of a wire or cable.However, this need not be the case and it may take a range of otherforms.

A damping arrangement may be provided to damp the rotation of the spooland thereby damp the movement of the pusher device arising from therotation of the spool. The damping arrangement may comprise, forexample, a brake member biased against a surface of the spool.Preferably, the load with which the brake member is biased against thesurface of the spool is controllable, to allow control over the rate ofmovement of the pusher device.

It will be appreciated that such an arrangement is advantageous in thatthere is no need for part of a coiled spring to be exposed. As a result,fewer exposed sharp edges may be present. Furthermore, by controllingthe rate at which the pusher member is moved, the risk of injury ordamage to products moved by the device can be reduced.

It will be appreciated that any two or more of the various aspects ofthe invention may be used in combination with one another, if desired.

The invention will further be described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration showing part of a shelf management device inaccordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view illustrating a device similar to that of FIG.1;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are views illustrating a modification to the arrangementof FIG. 2;

FIGS. 3 to 8 are images illustrating various parts of the shelfmanagement device; and

FIGS. 9 to 13 are views illustrating alternative devices in accordancewith embodiments of the invention.

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2, a shelf management device 10 isillustrated, the device 10 comprising a guide member 12 including a mainpart 14, conveniently of elongate extruded plastics material form, tothe front and rear ends of which are secured front and rear end fittings16, 18, preferably of moulded plastics material form. The shelfmanagement device 10 is intended, in use, to be mounted upon a shelf in,for example, a supermarket or the like, with the front end located at oradjacent the front edge of the shelf, the rear end being located to therear of the shelf, the main part 14 extending in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the shelf.

The main part 14 includes a base 20 arranged to sit upon the uppersurface of the shelf, and an upstanding guide rail 22 formed integrallywith the base 20, the guide rail 22 including upper and lower guides 24,26 adapted to cooperate with a pusher device 28 to guide the pusherdevice 28 for movement along the length of the guide member 12.

As best shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface of the base 20 is providedwith a series of axially extending, upstanding ribs 30. In use, aproduct to be located upon the shelf is supported upon the ribs 30, andit is thought that the slight spacing of the lower surface of theproduct from the upper surface of the shelf and base 20 resulting fromthe presence of the ribs 30 aids sliding movement of the product.

The rear end fitting 18 is shaped so as to limit movement of the pusherdevice 28 away from the front end of the device 10, cooperating with thepusher device 28 when the limit of movement in that direction isreached. The front end fitting 16 also serves to limit the movement ofthe pusher device 28, but also serves some other functions.Specifically, the front end fitting 16 carries a generally verticallyextending pivot pin 32 a which secures a stop member 32 to the front endfitting 16, guiding the stop member 32 for pivotal movement between aretaining position (as shown in FIG. 1) in which the stop member 32extends generally perpendicularly to the axial length of the guidemember 12, and a stocking position in which it extends generallyparallel to the length of the guide member 12, lying alongside the guidemember 12. Movement of the stop member 32 beyond these positions is notpermitted, cooperation between the stop member 32 and the front endfitting 16 preventing movement of the stop member 32 beyond theretaining position. A spring 32 b encircles a part of the pivot pin 32a, the ends of the spring 32 b cooperating with the front end fitting 16and the stop member 32 to apply a biasing load to the stop member 32urging the stop member 32 towards the retaining position.

FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate an alternative design of stop member 32 tothat shown in FIG. 2. In the arrangement of FIGS. 2a and 2b , a pair ofstop members 32 are provided, mounted upon a single pivot pin 32 a. Inorder to achieve this, the stop members 32 are provided with knuckles 32c defining openings through which the pin 32 a extends, the knuckles 32c of one of the stop members 32 being out of alignment with those of theother of the stop members 32. A single spring 32 b may be used to biasboth stop members 32 towards their respective retaining positions.Mounting both stop members upon a single pin allows a reduction in thespacing between the stop members, and so a reduction in the distance bywhich stock is laterally spaced apart. The presence of the knucklesensures that when in the restocking position, the stop members 32 canlie alongside the guide member, not significantly impeding theintroduction of stock adjacent the guide member. A limiter 32 d formingpart of the front end fitting 16 limits opening movement of the stopmembers 32 such that, at rest in the retaining position, parts of thefront faces thereof engage the limiter 32 d and are held substantiallyperpendicular to the length of the guide member 12. The limiter 32 d isspaced from the front end of the guide member 12, parts of the stopmembers 32, including the knuckles, being located therebetween as shown.It will be appreciated that by arranging for the stop members to extendsubstantially perpendicularly to the length of the guide member 12, atrest, available shelf space for supporting stock is not restricted orlimited significantly by the presence of the shelf management system,and the visual appeal of the stocked shelf is not impaired. Althoughsharing a common pin 32 a, it will be appreciated that the stop members32 are movable independently of one another.

The pusher device 28 mentioned hereinbefore comprises a pusher member 33shaped to include channels receiving parts of the guides 24, 26 to guidethe pusher device 28 for movement along the device 10. The pusher device28 further comprises a spring housing 34 (most clearly shown in FIG. 3)mounted to the pusher member 33, the spring housing 34 containing aspool 36 (see FIGS. 3 to 5) mounted for rotation between formations 34a, 34 b provided on the upper and lower parts of the spring housing 34.The spool 36 defines in inner spring chamber 38 in which, in use, acoiled spring 38 a (see FIG. 6) is located, one end of the coiled spring38 a being located within a slot 40 provided in the formation 34 a, theother end of the spring being located in a slot 42 formed in the spool36 such that the spring serves to apply a biasing rotary load to thespool 36. The outer surface of the spool 36 defines an annular cableguide recess 44. A drive cable 46 or other flexible drive member issecured, at one end, to the spool 36, the cable 46 extending throughopenings formed in the spring housing 34 and pusher member 33, the otherend of the cable 46 being secured to the front end fitting 16.

The spring chamber 38 is closed by a lid 48 fitted to the spool 36. Thelid 36 defines an opening 48 a with which a shaft of a damper member 50a (see FIG. 6) projecting from a damper housing 50 secured to the pusherdevice 28 cooperates. In one arrangement the damper housing 50 containsa spring biased brake arrangement that bears against or applies abraking load to the damper member 50 a, thereby applying a braking ordamping load to the spool 36 reducing the speed of rotation thereof, andthereby reducing the speed of movement of the pusher device 28 along theguide member 12 under the action of the spring.

Alternatively, the damper member 50 a may be a viscous fluid or the likebased rotary damper member. Conveniently, the damper member 50 asupports the spool 36 for rotation, defining the axis of rotationthereof. The damper member 50 a may be operable to damp rotary movementof the spool 36 in one rotary direction, allowing substantiallyunrestricted rotary movement thereof in the opposite direction. As aresult, movement of the pusher in pushing stock towards the front edgeof the shelf may be restricted, in use, but reverse movement of thepusher during restocking may be substantially unimpeded by the presenceof the damper member 50 a.

The underside of the front end fitting 16 is provided with recessescontaining friction pads 52, conveniently in the form of an appropriatefriction enhancing gel material. A further recess containing a magnet 54is also provided. The underside of the rear end fitting 18 is providedwith mounting features (not shown) cooperable with a mounting rail 58secured to a rear part of the shelf. As shown in FIG. 7, the mountingrail 58 may be arranged to be adhered to the upper surface of the shelf.Alternatively, it may include a flange adapted to be received within achannel associated with the shelf, in use, to be secured in position asshown in FIG. 8. In either case, a side face 58 a of the mounting rail58 is preferably formed with serrations or teeth, cooperable withcorresponding formations provided on one of the mounting features sothat, once secured to the mounting rail 58, lateral movement of theguide member 12 relative to the mounting rail 58 is not permitted.

In use, in order to secure the device 10 in position, firstly themounting rail 58 is secured to the shelf with which the device 10 is tobe used, the mounting rail 58 being located at or adjacent a rear partof the shelf. As a result, the presence of the mounting rail 58 will beobscured by stock located upon the shelf and so it will have minimalvisible impact. The guide member 12 is then secured to the mounting rail58 by hooking the mounting formations onto the mounting rail 58 with theguide member 12 in the desired position on the shelf. Once attached tothe mounting rail 58, the front end of the guide member 12 is loweredonto the surface of the shelf, magnetic attraction between the magnet 54and the material of the shelf resisting lifting movement of the guidemember 12, and the pads 52 resisting lateral movement of the front partof the guide member 12. It will be appreciated that once so positioned,movement of the guide member 12 is resisted, the guide member 12 beingsecurely attached or mounted in position. However, when required, theguide member 12 may be repositioned by lifting the front end of theguide member 12 resulting in partial unhooking of the mounting featuresfrom the mounting rail 58. Once partially unhooked in this manner, theguide member 12 can be slid lengthwise of the mounting rail 58, themounting features ensuring that the guide member 12 remainsperpendicular to the mounting rail 58 during such movement. Once in thedesired position, it can be re-secured in position as outlined above.

Once positioned as required, stock may be introduced by pushing thestock past the stop member 32, causing the stop member 32 to pivot tothe stocking position, the stock bearing against the face of the pusherdevice 28 urging the pusher device 28 towards the rear end of the guidemember 12. The movement of the pusher device 28 results in part of thecable 46 being withdrawn from the spool 36, the spool 36 rotatingagainst the action of the associated spring. Once the stock has beenintroduced, the stop member 32 will return to the retaining positionunder the action of the associated spring 32 b, and the spring locatedwithin the spool 36 will apply a load to the spool 36, urging the spool36 for rotation taking up the cable 46 and applying a load to the pusherdevice 28 urging the pusher device 28 and stock engaged thereby towardsthe front edge of the shelf. Movement of the pusher device 28 and stockis limited by engagement of the stock with the stop member 32. It willbe appreciated that, in this manner, the stock is neatly presented atthe front edge of the shelf.

If a shopper withdraws a product from the shelf, the pusher device 28will operate in substantially the manner outlined above to push theremaining stock towards the front edge of the shelf. The rate at whichthe stock is moved is controlled by the operation of the damper, therebyavoiding unduly rapid movement of the stock, and reducing the risk ofdamage thereto.

It will be appreciated that the use of the invention is advantageous inthat stock carried by a shelf is maintained, as desired, towards thefront of the shelf, enhancing the uniformity of the display. The mannerin which the guide device 12 is secured in position avoids the need fora bulky step or rail at or adjacent the front of the shelf, and so thevisible appeal of stock located upon the shelf is not significantlynegatively impacted by the presence of the device 10. The pivotable stopmembers 32 allow stock to be introduced in a simple and convenientmanner.

As stock is neatly presented to the front edge of the shelf, it may notbe immediately apparent to restocking operatives when restocking isrequired. In order to obviate this, a microswitch or the like may bemounted to the guide in a position to be engaged by the pusher when thepusher reaches a position in which restocking or stock replenishment isdesired, closing of the microswitch by the pusher causing an LED orother indicator to be operated so as to provide an indication thatrestocking or stock replenishment is desired. It will be appreciatedthat the subsequent restocking results in the pusher being moved to aposition in which the microswitch is no longer engaged, and so the LEDor the like is no longer operated.

Whilst for the most part in the description above, reference is madeonly to a single stop member and pusher device, as shown in FIGS. 1 and2 the guide member 12 may carry a pair of such stop members 32 andpusher devices 28. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, variants may be producedin which only a single pusher device 28 is provided, and/or in whichonly a single stop member 32 is provided. It is envisaged that, in mostapplications, stock will be located within a channel defined between apair of the guide members 12, and stop members 32 associated with eachof the guide members 12 will act, together, to limit the forwardmovement of stock. Depending upon the size and weight of the stock, asingle pusher device 28 or a pair of pusher devices 28 may be used tomove the stock along the channel. Where large or bulky, low weightproducts are located upon the shelf then rather than use a pair ofpusher devices 28, it may be preferred to modify the pusher device 28,for example as shown in FIG. 13, to increase the area of the pushermember 28 engageable with the product.

Variants incorporating different springs may be provided, the springselection being tailored to the product to be moved using the pusherdevice, to ensure that the pusher device 28 applies an appropriatepushing load to the stock. By way of example, versions including 6, 10and 14N springs may be provided. It is also envisaged to provide anarrangement in which a plurality of springs are provided within a singlespring housing, a mechanism being provided to determine which of thesprings is/are active at any given time. The design of the damper may besuch as to permit a good level of control over the magnitude of theapplied damping load and hence over the rate of movement of the pusherdevice 28.

The device may be produced in a range of sizes, and so the invention maybe suitable for use in adjusting the positions of, for example, smallcosmetic products, drinks cans and bottles, and larger products. It willbe appreciated that the invention is not restricted in this regard.

It will be understood that aspects of the invention may be employed withdesigns of shelf management system other than that describedhereinbefore. By way of example, the stop members may be employed with agravity fed shelf management system, rather than a spring biased one asdescribed hereinbefore, if desired, without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined by the appended claims.

It will be appreciated that whilst the description hereinbefore relates,primarily, to one specific example embodiment, a wide range ofmodifications and alterations may be made thereto without departing fromthe scope of the invention. By way of example, rather than damp movementby damping the rotation of the spool, a damping arrangement could beprovided between the pusher member and the guide rail.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A shelf management device comprising aguide member having a front end and a rear end, and a pusher deviceguided for movement by the guide member, wherein the pusher devicecomprises a rotatable spool upon which is wound a flexible drive member,an end part of the drive member being secured to the guide member at oradjacent the front end thereof, a spring separate from the drive memberprovided to urge the spool for rotation to wind the drive member ontothe spool and thereby apply a load to the pusher device urging thepusher device towards the front end of the guide member, and a dampingarrangement adapted to damp the rotation of the spool, damping thewinding of the drive member onto the spool, and thereby damping themovement of the pusher device arising from the rotation of the spoolunder the action of the spring.
 2. The device according to claim 1,wherein the drive member comprises a wire or cable.
 3. The deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the damping arrangement comprises a brakemember biased against a surface of the spool.
 4. The device according toclaim 1, wherein the damping arrangement comprises a viscous fluid basedrotary damping arrangement.
 5. The device according to claim 1, whereinthe damping arrangement comprises a damper member supporting the spoolfor rotation.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the dampingarrangement damps rotation of the spool in one rotary direction, but thespool is free to move substantially without damping by the dampingarrangement in the opposite rotary direction.
 7. The device according toclaim 1, wherein a damping load applied by the damping arrangement iscontrollable, to allow control over the rate of movement of the pusherdevice.